Mountain Biking Courchevel...

From the top of this lift we flew down and then around the mountain, predominately on fast doubletrack to the neighboring valley of Meribel for more fuelling before another pair of gondolas deposited us effortlessly at the top of another very high peak where another massive descent awaited us.

Fire road soon gave way to a very narrow goat track, which headed straight down the grassy slopes before branching off to traverse the hill. Climbing gently as it headed up the valley, the sweetly winding track interspersed with the odd rain ditch crossing kept you on your toes and the altitude gain was painless. Arriving in the valley resort of Les Menuires just after 1:00 in the afternoon, we decided a spot of lunch was in order. We were in for a treat, too, as the BBQ was in full force. Sausages in baguettes were readily devoured.

We had covered about half the distance and could see the next section of trail shooting down the valley, so dragging ourselves away from the barbie we set off and cruised the gravel track to the next chair lift at St Martins.

We could tell from our route map that we would exit the lift about half way up, leaving us to climb back into valley two on our own power. It didn't look like much so we clipped in and headed out.

Boy, were we wrong; cresting the first ridge the doubletrack disappeared and the singletrack snaked its way as far as we could see, relentlessly up the mountain. And it went on and on, every time you got to a bend in the trail, rounding it you were greeted by the sight of it soaring upward some more before finally, after a cruel false flat, we reached the peak after an hour of solid climbing.

It was a real challenge but strangely enjoyable as it was nearly all singletrack and the incline and terrain variable from middle ring powering to nose of the saddle steep and steppy.

"We had 15 minutes to catch the last lift out of the valley and back into our own resort. Unfortunately, it was more than 200 meters above us..."

With nowhere to go but down, we dropped saddles a touch and shot off once more, this time on a very fast, hard-packed slither of trail kicking up a dust cloud of the magnitude more normally seen on a motocross track. More nibbles and another tough climb brought us back to Merribel, ready to tackle the final two sections.

The sheer volume of climbing in the previous section took its toll on our pace and we cursed our early morning cruising as we set off again. We had only 15 minutes to catch the last lift out of this valley and back into our own resort. Unfortunately, it was more than 200 meters of vertical above us. We pressed on, but soon realized we wouldn't make it and began hoping for a late closedown. We missed out by 15 minutes or so.

Accepting defeat we descended in seconds what had taken minutes to climb up and set about the “could be a couple of hours” road journey around the base of the mountain. Stopping for ice cream lifted our spirits a little and we made like a peleton and sped on.

We finally arrived back at the chalet at 7:30. The trip back wasn't as bad as it looked, taking about an hour. Chomping down our tea we agreed that despite missing the last 15 kilometers it was still an awesome day. Superbly organized, the event had an excellent vibe and was really well-supported by the locals cheering everybody on at the many checkpoints. It was also a fantastic way to see the area and make some plans for the rest of our stay.

And we've sworn to come back in 2006 to complete the route fully.

For more information on the area check out www.courchevel.com and www.Pleisure.com.

By Gary Jennings Visit his site www.justride.uk.co